Dragon Ball Super Episode 88 Review

Gohan and Piccolo Teacher and Pupil Clash in Max Training!

I don’t really have to say that I was really looking forward to this episode. Not only did it feature two of my favorite characters in the Dragon Ball universe, but it was also an attempt to return them to their former glory. Both Gohan and Piccolo have been downplayed in Dragon Ball Super, despite being key players when it came to Dragon Ball Z, so it’s nice to see that we get to spend some time with them.

Also, before we go on, I was asked why I prefer this sort of review/recap style. This is mainly to get those who haven’t seen this episode up to speed and to be honest, doing a simple review doesn’t really do anyone justice. So for those who enjoy this style, thanks. I’ll keep pumping them out this way. 

As we start off episode 88, we’re treated to a sparring match between Piccolo and Gohan, with Gohan not doing so well. After a brief attack, Piccolo forces Gohan to retreat and then basically tells Gohan that he isn’t the warrior he used to be. We’re then treated to a flashback which helps clear up some confusion. It was implied that while Goku went off to recruit other members for the Tournament of Power, while Gohan went to recruit Piccolo. Instead, we find out that Goku had already approached Piccolo about entering and about how weak Gohan has gotten. This was very apparent during the Zen Exhibition match, as Gohan was barely holding his own during the match. That said, I kind of disagree with that, especially since Gohan was poisoned for the majority of the match and still was able to get his opponent out of the ring. That’s some crazy endurance, if you ask me.

It’s during that flashback that Piccolo agrees to both entering the tournament and getting Gohan back into fighting shape. Though, it’s still a bit confusing as Gohan was already training Gohan back during the “Future” Trunks Saga. We saw this first hand when Trunks was returning to the future, with both Piccolo and Gohan saying goodbye. I don’t know if the director is getting sloppy, or what. But lets forget about that for now. Before the flashback is over, Piccolo requests that Goku brings him two senzu beans. This signifies that there’s going to be some major training going on, to the extent that both of the fighters will see some heavy damage.

There’s a bit of comedy thrown in as we change settings and are now watching Trunks and Goten, attempting to change the diaper of Bulla. Whiz and Beerus watch from a distance, and we see Beerus is still upset about the whole universe wipe thing. He even starts to question if he should tell everyone about the tournament and that the universe could be wiped out. Whiz, however,  reminds him it wouldn’t be very wise to do so. We also see that Vegeta is quite versed in changing diapers, which easily puts Goku to shame. We jump away again, this time to a short wife vs husband sparring match between Krillin and No. 18. No. 18 dispatches Krillin with ease and then tells him that his money from the Tournament of Power is now hers. She’s still under the impression that she’s going to win money after the event. Goku’s lie is still holding up it would see.

Getting back to Gohan, who is having no luck getting an advantage over Piccolo. He gets reckless and impatient; Piccolo notices this. He lectures him and tells him that he’s going to have to do better if he wants to save his family and the universe. It’s pretty much the same thing Goku said to him during the Cell saga. Gohan starts to look discouraged until Piccolo tells him finally, he knows he can do it and to trust him. This cheers up Gohan and then we cut over to Cabba.

Cabba, the Saiyan from universe 6. Cabba was ordered by Champa to find other Saiyans for the upcoming tournament and he could think of no other than his former captain and mentor, Renso. Only, when we met this person, we found a crippled fighter who would likely be of no help. After a brief conversation, Renso asks if Cabba would show him his newly found power. That power being the Super Saiyan form that Vegeta taught him. Cabba proceeds to power up and Renso remarks that Cabba is definitely the ace of the Saiyan elite unit. Still, Renso is in no form to fight and recommends that Cabba recruits his sister, Caulifla, instead. He goes on to claim that she has more fighting potential than he does. 

I suppose we’ll take his word for it as we never get to see him fight. Oh yeah, Cabba doesn’t seem to be too pleased with this either. Poor guy.

It’s worth noting that Caulifla is the very same Saiyan we see transform to the legendary Super Saiyan form during the current Dragon Ball Super opening. We’ve all wondered when we’d get to see her, and well, here she is. But something doesn’t add up here. If Cabba is the first Super Saiyan that we know of from universe 6, how is it that we’ve seen Caulifla powered up as a legendary Super Saiyan form? Does she already possess this power? Does Cabba show her the Super Saiyan form and she somehow manages to surpass it or what? I know I’m jumping the gun here, but that’s pretty exciting. But we’ll just have to wait to find out more. I’m also not sure if what we saw of her was another flashback, or what. When we see her in the trailer, he looks older, while here she clearly has the looks of a child.

Jumping back to Piccolo and Gohan, we find the two getting ready to spar again. Only this time, Piccolo tells Gohan that the kid gloves are off and he’s going to fight for real. He proceeds to drop his weighted clothing and Gohan powers up again, while Piccolo tells him that despite Gohan being powerful he has a weakness. Piccolo calls him out and tells him he’s going to show Gohan what that weakness is. Early in this new fight, Piccolo gets the jump on Gohan, which surprises Gohan to the point where he asks where did he get this power from. And just as No. 17 told Goku he just wasn’t sitting around doing anything, Piccolo replies with the same answer. He then strangles Gohan and knocking him out. Piccolo then shocks Gohan, bringing him to and tells him that weakness. He’s cocky and arrogant, like another certain Saiyan we know. We sae a brief flashback during the Buu Saga where Gohan fought against Buu in his Mystic Gohan form as well. 

Piccolo then tells Gohan that he knows he’s stronger than this, and that he needs to awaken his power. Suddenly, Gohan starts powering up, and then Piccolo starts to harass him. Them he asks if his current Super Saiyan form was all that he has and what happened to that power he had when he fought Buu. At that instant, started to surpass his Super Saiyan form and a return of Mystic Gohan, which is his most powerful form. This is exactly when the elder Kai drew out Gohan’s true power.

We can see here that Gohan’s serious looks are back and are reminiscent from the Gohan we saw in the Future of Trunks movie. His glowing yellow energy that is synonymous with Super Saiyan from is also gone, with a bright white glowing energy replacing it.

Gohan tells Piccolo that he won’t hold back and the two spar again. They engage in combat, with Piccolo summoning clones of himself. This time, Gohan finally manages to get the better of Piccolo, or does he? During the fight, he manages to slice off one of Piccolo’s arms and the sight of Piccolo in pain stops him cold. I guess he forgot that Piccolo can regenerate his limbs. While Piccolo tells him that if he continues to fight like that, he’ll be fine, he also suckers Gohan into believing that he has won the fight. Instead, Piccolo shows his tactical mind yet again. He was merely baiting Gohan and commands his severed arm to do a beam attack into Gohan’s back.

I guess despite the fact that Goku never really trained Gohan, except for the time during the Buu Saga, he picked up some bad impressions. That and Gohan being a Saiyans is apparently really cocky.

Piccolo catches Gohan in the air and tells him that he still let his guard down, though he supposes this is something that was passed down from Gohan’s father, Goku. In order for Gohan to surpass his former self, he needs to drop the arrogance. The scene then chases to a campfire where the two are sitting down and talking over the upcoming dinner. Piccolo tells Gohan that he doesn’t believe he’s at full the extent of his powers that he wants to help push him further. Gohan agrees and also suggests that the two come up with some sort of tag team attacks for the upcoming battle.

This wraps up Dragon Ball Super episode 88. Next week, we’ll see the show shift over to Tien and Master Rossi, the final two characters that will be recruited for the Tournament of Power.